Trumpeter M198

AFV Club's 155mm/203mm set has both the short, fat and long, skinny powder cans in it.  It is a great set and will gve you a bunch of ammo for the big gun.

HeavyArty

AFV Club's 155mm/203mm set has both the short, fat and long, skinny powder cans in it.  It is a great set and will gve you a bunch of ammo for the big gun.

Too bad they don't include the seperate powder bags so you can set up a diorama with the powder bags loaded onto the loading tray prior to being rammed into the breach but I guess the bags could be scratchbuild out of rod and tissue paper.

BTW do they still place a piece of foil between the 1st and 3rd bag prior to being loaded into the breech? Oh and as for building another M198 kit I do have the Italeri Bigfoot Prime mover in the stash and alot of cardpaper MRE boxes from several sources.

Sometimes I find accessories like springs and stuff are just needless and gimmicky and would prefer to have the left out if it dropped the price of the kit down a bit. I have a Dragon Late model Tiger in my stash and it has a spring for the gun recoil mechanism which to me serves no purpose whatsoever. Sure I might make the occasional gun blast sound, but I most certainly am not going to push the barrel back and risk damaging something.

The Bronco M114 kits contain rounds, powder cans and poder bags.  They are really nice and come with decals for all the parts.  They are on a seperate sprue and I am hoping Bronco releases them as a seperatecset.

As for the foil, no, we don't use it anymore.  Actually, powder bags are gone too.  The new charges are called MACS (Modular Artillery Charge System) and are in a plastic container.  You add multiple containers to increase the charge.  For more info on them, check here:  http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/macs.htm

You have any dimensions on the MACS charges because it might be fun to scratch build those canisters. And I did order the AFV Club 155mm/203mm Ammo set today and I guess with the powder charges in that set definitely would work with ODS and early OEF as well as early OIF as the MACS system would have been starting to phase in back in 2003.

And Gino how would I go about modifying some of the kit supplied projectiles into RAP rounds or were those longer to allow for the rocket motor?

HeavyArty

The Bronco M114 kits contain rounds, powder cans and poder bags.  They are really nice and come with decals for all the parts.  They are on a seperate sprue and I am hoping Bronco releases them as a seperatecset.

As for the foil, no, we don't use it anymore.  Actually, powder bags are gone too.  The new charges are called MACS (Modular Artillery Charge System) and are in a plastic container.  You add multiple containers to increase the charge.  For more info on them, check here:  http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/macs.htm

The MACS charges are the same diameter as the breach opening, about 155mm, so they can easily slide in.  Each MACS is about 4 inches high as well.

RAP rounds look no different than a standard HE round.  The differences are all internal.  The amount of HE (Comp B) is reduced to allow space for the rocket motor.

Oh Gino I finally got around to getting another M198 on Ebay on the 6th of Dec it should be in around the 10th or 11th and I also picked up some real wood 155mm pallets in 1/35 scale.

I also downloaded the maintenance TM for the M198 which meantions the HYPAK and HIPE mods. Wonder when the aftermarket companies will put those out or if Bronco will put out a more modern tooling of the M198?

I did get progess on mine and have pics just have to put them up in the next day or so.

Mikeym - here is a link to my build log for the M198.

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/3/t/114226.aspx

It may give you some ideas. I am not totally sure but the M198 may have left the US system around the same time the powder bag was pushed out by the plastic powder pack.

My younger brother Gino can nail the timing down exactly.

Remember, they would not have that many bags unpacked....the cans may be open but the powder would not be lying around.

Rounds Complete!!

Did you notice Gino that on the upper left corner of the breech is a piece of plastic that is shaped like a german convoy light but smaller? Well I checked the tech manual I downloaded and it is a Thermal warning device and it shape matches the piece of plastic I just meantioned.

 I wonder why Trumpeter never bothered to mold the gauge on that part or even provide a decal or PE for it?

At least you have a solution for the pressure gauges on the right side trail but I did notice with the real ramrod that it is actually hollow so at least I can hollow it out with my pin vise. Oh and I don't have to worry about olive drab thread for the lanyard I have quite a bit of it from an old GI sewing kit that I use for resewing the buttons on my surplus BDU pants( I have enough thread scraps for at least several builds).

Gino did you notice that the "copper HE rounds" in the AFV club ammo set are actually brass oh well I can mask the fuses and paint the rounds and use a copper paint pen to paint the bands copper.

BTW The TM I downloaded is TM-9-1025-211-20&P .

TECHNICAL MANUAL

UNIT MAINTENANCE MANUAL

(INCLUDING REPAIR PARTS AND

SPECIAL TOOLS LIST)

FOR

HOWITZER, MEDIUM, TOWED:

155-MM, M198

(1025-01-026-6648) (EIC:3EL)

and it does also show alot of details

i am working on a d-30 now (primed) and just finished the trumpeter ww2 german 150mm.  swapped the asu-85 for thie early version after ipms christmas party last wed.

waynec

i am working on a d-30 now (primed) and just finished the trumpeter ww2 german 150mm.  swapped the asu-85 for thie early version after ipms christmas party last wed.

was the D-30 the Soviet 122mm Howitzer? if it is I have the Italeri kit and 2 packages of SKIF 122mm ammo and propellant cartridges (short case not the long case cartridges found on the SU-122).

Looks like it is coming along nicely.  As Mike said, I think the M198 was being phased out at the time of the MAC charges and replaced by the M777.  I don't know if the MAC charges were approved for use on the M198.  Standard powder bags may be a better option.

HeavyArty

Looks like it is coming along nicely.  As Mike said, I think the M198 was being phased out at the time of the MAC charges and replaced by the M777.  I don't know if the MAC charges were approved for use on the M198.  Standard powder bags may be a better option.

Actually Gino I wasn't going to do MACS with this build but I did bring up the HYPAK and HIPE mods on the M198.

I just got back to work on the M198's I have and have the first one started on painting. This is the one that was started by the original owner. And after test fitting the muzzle I realized how badly he screwed up he turned it nearly 45 degrees! I can fix that by removing the locating pin on the muzzle while the breech is turned 45 degrees it is barely noticeable.

Also I am looking at what type of decal to use for the barrel over-temperature gauge located on the upper left corner of the breech so does anyone have any suggestion for the decals?

wow missed this one in the email. yes it is. i built it in travel mode; smaller footprint but looks wierd. i get a couple of more multi color silly putty camo vehicles done and i will build this.

Wayne there are 3 different Travel modes. The version you did was more for air transport than road transport while the other mode was for road travel. One was fully elevated barrel which was usually seen on gun convoys I usually saw coming from Camp Grayling.

Oh you were talking about the D30 not the M198.

waynec

wow missed this one in the email. yes it is. i built it in travel mode; smaller footprint but looks wierd. i get a couple of more multi color silly putty camo vehicles done and i will build this.

Nice work so far---its interesting to see three different artillery pieces being built up here. I can't remember a time when  that has happened!

Karl given time I could probably pump out a ZIS-3 and a Tamiya 25 pounder with Bronco 25 pounder limber.

But I definitely will be doing one of the M198's in towing configuration and the other in firing. Will definitely build a prime mover as I have a M939/923 prime mover in the stash. 

the doog

Nice work so far---its interesting to see three different artillery pieces being built up here. I can't remember a time when  that has happened!

Mikeym_us

Actually Gino I wasn't going to do MACS with this build but I did bring up the HYPAK and HIPE mods on the M198.

Missed this the first time around. 

The HYPAK was a proposed tandem-wheeled dolly to allow the gun to be moved by smaller vehicles like a HMMWV.  It was not accepted. Here is a document that shows the configuration well:  http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=m198%20hypak&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dtic.mil%2Fcgi-bin%2FGetTRDoc%3FAD%3DADA303032&ei=opvIUeHYDab94AOVpYCIDA&usg=AFQjCNGYz7P6raRJ-_250Q8A2tzI1nI6OQ&bvm=bv.48293060,d.dmg

The HIPE (Howitzer Improved Power Enhancement) program provided an upgrade to four major subsystems of all field-operating M198 Howitzers to keep them operationally ready. The kits included new battery boxes, power supply distribution units, radio boxes, and antenna/NATO junction boxes. HIPE modernizations improved tactical mobility, survivability, and responsiveness of the M198.

Gino HYPAK was the HYdraulic Power Assist Kit which added a booster to the hydraulic systems to improve performance. True the ARL canceled the tandem wheel but the HYPAK mods were accepted.

I'm hoping someone would put out aftermarket mods for the M198 for the Mk5 FCR and the HIPE mods you listed. Oh BTW AFV Club brought out some more brass 155mm ammo incuding the M483/M483A1 DPICM, M898 SADARM ,M549 HERA ,and the M692/731 ADAM.

HeavyArty

Mikeym_us

Actually Gino I wasn't going to do MACS with this build but I did bring up the HYPAK and HIPE mods on the M198.

 

Missed this the first time around. 

The HYPAK was a proposed tandem-wheeled dolly to allow the gun to be moved by smaller vehicles like a HMMWV.  It was not accepted. Here is a document that shows the configuration well:  http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=m198%20hypak&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dtic.mil%2Fcgi-bin%2FGetTRDoc%3FAD%3DADA303032&ei=opvIUeHYDab94AOVpYCIDA&usg=AFQjCNGYz7P6raRJ-_250Q8A2tzI1nI6OQ&bvm=bv.48293060,d.dmg

The HIPE (Howitzer Improved Power Enhancement) program provided an upgrade to four major subsystems of all field-operating M198 Howitzers to keep them operationally ready. The kits included new battery boxes, power supply distribution units, radio boxes, and antenna/NATO junction boxes. HIPE modernizations improved tactical mobility, survivability, and responsiveness of the M198.